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Yeti -

Also known as the Abominable Snowman, this giant, hairy creature is believed to live high up in the Himalayas.

Although the creature is meant to invoke fear, the name itself comes from the Tibetan yeh-teh, meaning "little manlike animal."

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The Chupacabra -

The legendary goat-sucker supposedly resides in the southwestern US, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.

It's been described as hairless, spiky, and sometimes bearlike. It apparently kills livestock.

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Poltergeist - The German word poltergeist comes from the words poltern "create a disturbance" and Geist "ghost."

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Poltergeist -

It is a supernatural being blamed for otherwise inexplicable noises or disturbances.

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La Lechuza - This monster, reportedly sighted in Mexico and Texas, was once a woman who was killed for practicing witchcraft. She came back to life as a giant owl with a woman’s face.

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La Lechuza -

La Lechuza can coo like a baby when she wishes to lure a victim close so she can feast on human flesh. Sometimes, they say, you can hear her chilling screams coming from the forest.

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Drop bear -

This Australian folklore creature is a carnivorous, predatory koala bear.

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Drop bear - It is said that the drop bear has a special taste for non-Australian accents and will jump out of trees to prey on foreigners.

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The jackalope - This antlered species of rabbit is said to reside in the American Southwest, though it’s also rumored to be extinct. Still, there are occasionally rumored sightings.

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The jackalope -

The jackalope is thought to possess the ability to mimic human speech, and is said to be very vicious when provoked, attacking with its horns.

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Bigfoot/Sasquatch -

Bigfoot is hairy and apelike, walking upright and living in the woods. People claim to sight the creature all the time—or at least the big footprints it supposedly leaves behind.

Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is mostly associated with the Pacific Northwest, where it’s thought to reside in the wilderness of California, Oregon, and Washington.

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Banshee - In Irish and Scottish folklore, the banshee, or "woman of the fairies," is a supernatural being.

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Banshee - She visits the homes of those about to die and wails underneath their window.

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The Boggy Creek Monster -

The monster was first sighted in the small town of Fouke, Arkansas, US, in the 1800s. It was taller and heavier than a man, with its body covered in long, thick hair.

The monster was blamed for mauling a man in 1971, leaving three-toed footprints near the scene.

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Mummy - The mummy is typically associated with ancient Egypt.

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Mummy -

The monster version appears as an embalmed human corpse that has come back to life.

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Zombie - The zombie was first introduced centuries ago through West African and Haitian folklore. 

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Zombie - The modern cultural obsession was introduced by George Romero in his film 'Night of the Living Dead.'

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The Wendigo - The Algonquin folklore of the northern US and Canada tells of a monster called the Wendigo. It is tall, very thin, covered in fur, and endlessly hungry, with big owl eyes and claws.

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The Wendigo - The Wendigo eats and sometimes possesses people, turning them into cannibals.

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The Gowrow - They say the Gowrow dwells in the caves and lakes of Arkansas, making horrible sounds and eating livestock.

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The Gowrow - It’s reportedly a 20-foot long reptile with tusks.

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Kraken -

The giant sea monster, often represented in the form of a squid or octopus, was reportedly first spotted off the coast of Norway.

It is thought that the sea monster was born out of sightings of the giant squid, which can reach 13 to 15 m (40 to 50 ft) in length.

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Cerberus -

The three-headed dog from Greek and Roman mythology is believed to guard the gates to hell.

Also known as "the hound of Hades," the dog is famously known for his capture by Heracles.

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The Jersey Devil - Hundreds of people have reported sighting this New Jersey monster. It is said to look like a kangaroo with bat wings, hooves or claws, and a horrifying shriek.

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The Jersey Devil - It would fly over the forested Pine Barrens area of the New Jersey coast, then disappear from the sky after sounding its bloodcurdling call.

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The Wampus Cat -

In the mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, you might want to watch out for the Wampus Cat, which is said to resemble a cougar—if a cougar walked upright and had red glowing eyes, that is.

They say the Wampus Cat was once a Cherokee woman, cursed to wear a cat skin forever.

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Headless Horseman - The Headless Horseman originated in 1820 in Washington Irving’s short story ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.’

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Headless Horseman -

It has since been a popular motif of European folklore.

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The Mothman -

In West Virginia in the 1960s, people reportedly witnessed a winged manlike figure with eyes that shone red when illuminated by headlights.

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The Mothman -

Later a bridge collapsed, killing a large number of people. The incident was rumored to be tied to the mythical winged monster.

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Godzilla - Originally "Gojira" in Japanese, the name is a combination of "gorilla" and "whale."

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Godzilla - The monster was born in a series of Japanese movies of the same name, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film 'Godzilla.'

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“Momo,” the Missouri Monster - Tall and covered in hair, Momo is considered to be a Bigfoot-like creature, just with a bigger head, no neck, and a sickening smell.

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“Momo,” the Missouri Monster -

It’s supposedly been sighted in the area around Louisiana, Missouri since the 1940s.

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Werewolf -

The human with the ability to morph into a wolf during a full moon is widespread in European folklore.

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Werewolf -

Belief in the werewolf is said to have evolved alongside the witch during the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period.

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The Beast of Bladenboro -

In the 1950s, several dogs were found dead in North Carolina. Their bodies had been drained of blood. Who was to blame? The Beast of Bladenboro, they say.

The vampiric monster is said to resemble a large wild cat, and may or may not have been killed following the incident.

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Kaikapu - On Kauai, Hawaii, you can see Spouting Horn, a natural blowhole that draws a lot of tourists with cameras. However, it’s been said that the hissing geyser of water could be the work of a giant lizard named Kaikapu.

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Kaikapu -

The story goes that long ago, the lizard was tricked by a young boy and trapped inside the tube. To this day, you can hear her roar and see her breath spraying out.

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The Proctor Valley Monster -

A resident of San Diego county, California, the Proctor Valley Monster either looks sort of like Bigfoot or like a cow with its body parts in the wrong place.

Supposedly the monster occasionally mutilated livestock and once killed a teenage boy.

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The Skunk Ape - It is said that several Skunk Apes live deep in the Florida Everglades. Apelike in appearance and covered in fur, the monsters are apparently a distant relative of Bigfoot.

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The Skunk Ape - The creatures supposedly smell terrible, like rotting garbage or skunks, hence the name.

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Davy Jones - Davy Jones is the spirit of the sea, or the "sailor's devil" in nautical circles.

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Davy Jones - "Davy Jones's locker" refers to the ocean as the grave of those who have died at sea.

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Orc -

This fictional creature, akin to a humanoid goblin, was developed by J.R.R. Tolkien in 'Lord of the Rings,' although it was designed from pre-existing mythology.

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Orc - Earlier references to the creature can be found in the Old English epic story 'Beowulf' and 16th-century Italian folk tales.

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Golem - The golem is a human figure made from clay that is present in Jewish legend.

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Golem -

The figure is supernaturally brought to life. The Yiddish word gōlem means "shapeless mass."

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“Champ,” the Lake Champlain Monster -

Like the Loch Ness Monster, Champ is a beloved giant lake monster. He supposedly lives in Vermont’s Lake Champlain.

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“Champ,” the Lake Champlain Monster -

Said to look like a dinosaur with a serpentine neck and flippers, Champ is an officially protected species in the state of Vermont.

See also: Is Nessie real? Dive into the Loch Ness Monster mystery

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